Alice Springs to Darwin / Getting Home Via Asia

Joeyjoejoe43

Hi,

Im planning on doing a 9 day safari tour from Alice springs to Darwin before xmas. The trip includes Ayrs rock and other places around this area, and also includes Kakadu national park in the North beside Darwin. The trip is with Adventure Holidays and it costs $1095, with most meals included and all accomodation included. So basically Im wondering:

Is this good value?

Would I better off cutting the trip to 6 days ($750) and not doing Kakadu national park and ending the trip in Darwin? Ie, is Kakadu any good??

The reason we are hitting for Darwin, is that Tigerairways fly from here to Thailand fairly cheaply, which leads me onto my next question, We will be flying into Krabi and then go Krabi - Bangkok - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Maybe Chang Mai - China? - Hong Kong?

Is it possible to get from North Thailand/Laos to China and then Hong Kong over land, ie bus or train or would I have to fly??

Im basically looking for the cheapest way off getting from Oz, home with a 3 month stop in Asia, and currently I think this may be Darwin -> Thailand (Tigerairways) and then make way to Hong Kong over 3 months and go Hong Kong -> London (Oasis Airlines).... Alternatives would be most welcome.

If you think you have anything vaguely useful to post, please do.

Cheers :cool:

therecklessone

I did the same tour only the other way around two years ago.

I'll say this, regardless of where you visit the tour is made by the people you end up travelling with. If you get a good bunch in your group then you'll be guaranteed a great time.

The tour operators also have first class tour guides.

Oh, the tour into Kakadu will probably be in a 16 seater 4WD bus with s*itty A/C, it's bloody humid round there so bear that in mind.

Joeyjoejoe43

Thanks for that man.

therecklessone

Here's a few pics I took on the tour:



That's a White Breasted Sea Eagle that swooped in to rob some of the food we had on the Jumping Croc cruise on the Adelaide River (fairly certain you'll get to do that).



And that's one of the crocs!



Sunset over Ubirr.





And over the Olgas.



Ayers Rock. I piked out halfway up, to my eternal shame a kid of no more than 3 years old strolled past me on her way up shouting "c'mon Grandma, nearly there"...:D

therecklessone

I had a blog on my travels, here's what I had to say [remember, I did the tour from the other end]

Remember when I said it was warm? Well its nowhere near as warm as it is in Kakadu National Park. About 36 degrees, and as humid as I can imagine. Sleep was impossible, waking up in a puddle of sweat every couple of hour wasn’t nice…

Anyway, left Darwin at 6.30am on Friday morning to get on a cramped 4WD bus for a three day safari into Kakadu. Beautiful scenery, great swimming in rock pools (which I couldn’t take advantage of…grrr) and plenty of wildlife.

Day 1 involved a trip to the Ade;aide River for the jumping crocodile cruise. The trip lasts about 50 minutes, and they feed the crocs scraps of meat, which they jump out of the water to snap up.

Pretty impressive, but not as impressive as the White Breasted Sea Eagle that swooped down to snatch a chunk.

A couple of rock pools later, and we met out first Aborigines, Kevin and Jeffry (not their traditional names!) for a Corroberee. We sat in a circle round a fire and watched the two boys dance and sing, play a bit of didge, and tell a few stories. The fun began after that, when we tried the didge ourselves, then got painted up for a dancing session.

Great fun. Had a few beers watching the footy, then me, Kevin and Jeffry retired to the circle for a few more beers and a chat about their culture. Fascinating people, with an amazing history and respect for their environment.

Day 2 involved quite a bit of travel, but was well worth it when we caught sunset at Ubirr (edited, originally said Nourlangie) art site, an amazing aboriginal art ste which functioned as a "school" for want of a better term. Did a fairly brisk 3.7km hike early in the morning to a water hole for a swim, then back to the bus. Got slightly baked in the process. But the sunset was so worth it.

Day 3 had us do another hike, swim, then hike back. God damn those bloody swimmers! Still, it was great to get out and see some more of the countryside. Bloody warm though. 4 hour drive back to Darwin last night knocked the hell out of me, so I had dinner, a few beers, then bed at 11pm.

I’m off again tomorrow, three days on an air-conditioned bus (thank you!) to Alice Springs, stopping off along the way at Katherine, and a few other places that slip my mind right now (its hard to think in this weather, I keep forgetting people’s names momentarily then struggle to remember them before I have to say anything)

p.s. forgot to mention…

I booked my accomodation in Darwin when I was in the hostel in Cairns. Had a look through the Rough Guide, found a motel called the Palms Motel that got a good write up. Decided I wanted a quiet night before my 6.30am pickup, so called ‘em up and booked a room. I then phone ATA (my tour company for Darwin to Ayer’s Rock) and tell ‘em where to pick me up. "You sure thats not the Palm’s Resort?" they ask. "No, the Palm’s Motel" I reply.

I arrive in Darwin airport, jump in a taxi and ask him to take me to the Palms Motel. "Who turned you on to that place" he says. "My guide book" I answered, giving it no more thought. "You’ll see a few nice girls tonight so" he replies.

Anyway, nights sleep out of the way, my tour bus arrives and the guide jumps out to greet me. "Who turned you on to this place he says?". "The guide book" I answer a little worried. Thats when he tells me the place is a knocking shop! Turns out they’d fished two Filipino prostitutes out of the Adelaide River a few months ago, and they’d been working out of the place. I must e-mail the Rough Guide people and tell them just how good value the place is…

therecklessone

Darwin to Alice Springs:

Last entry was from Darwin last Monday. After I left the internet cafe I did a bit of shopping and headed back to my hostel. Thats when I noticed the mosquito bites. Lots of them. All over both arms, and down my right leg (but not the left). And they look like uber-mosquito bites, cos the ones on my arms have yellow/white spots on them as well. I start to get worried, so phone my tour company for advice. Naturally enough, they’re reluctant to give medical advice to me, so suggest I go to a pharmacy for a word. Off I go. To be greeted by a Paddy who’s only out of college and arrived in Oz two weeks previous! He’ll know what to do I think to myself…

Anyway, fair play to the lad, but he sorts me out good and proper and I decide to continue with my tour rather than visiting the doctor.

We leave Darwin the following morning for Katherine Gorge on a 48 seater coach with only 20 passengers, and its air-con heaven. Its a long journey to do in 2.5 days, approx 1500km, so we struggle to see a lot on the way. The driver is the business, Cobber Dave he’s called, and he spent the first 25 years of his life waking up in South East Asian gutters after his submarine stopped into port for a few days. Its taken its toll, so he repeats himself constantly and takes about 10 minutes to tell us what others could do in 1. Still, he’s a character.

Katherine Gorge is stunning, sheer walls either side of a wide calm river. It averages 7m depth, but can double that during the wet (which we’ve just left). I choose the cruise rather than the kayaking, mainly because I’m still freaked by the mozzie bites and don’t want to be in the sun for too long. Move on to our camp site for the night, have a bit of dinner then sink 3 litres of wine. Naturally, I’m pissed. My tent-buddy Andy gets us lost on the 2 minute walk back to the tent, so we take 30 minutes instead, tripping over 2 benches in the process, and opening up my cut knee again. I get me own back by snoring all night, and he has to leave the tent. Ha ha.

Wine is soooo cheap over here, a 4 litre carton (of good quality stuff) will set you back about 7 euro. Yes, I said 7 euro.

Following day we travel quite a bit, stopping for lunch in the "historical" Daly Waters Pub, where we restock for the nights beerage. Our campsite is an outback farm thats as remote as we get on the trip. Food in the belly, and we start on the beers again. Insist I’m going to bed early, but sit up until 2am talking to a few of the lads and some random Aussie bloke called Greg who’s working clearing the scrub along the highway. Get locked again, and end up sitting in a mock UFO at 2 in the morning. The things we do when drunk…

Day 3 sees us stop off at an old mine for a tour with a grizzled prospecter dagnabbit. Then we see the Devils Marbles and head of to Alice Springs, arriving at about 5pm. The night comes quickly, so we get grogged up pretty quickly, then participate in various pub-run drinking games. I end up trouserless at one stage. Its all good nature fun, I swear. T’was a great crew to travel with, had a right laugh and forged some good friendships.

therecklessone

Around Alice:

So its Friday morning, and its an early start. I’m groggy as hell, but manage to get out of the scratcher and make it to check in for 6am. Smaller group this time, with a few from the Darwin-Alice Springs bus along for the ride. Quieter as well, nowhere near as many lunatics.

Friday sees us drive to Kings Canyon for a climb/walk. We stop off coffee at a Camel Farm along the way, and its the usual tourist trap that allows the bus drivers combine a coffee and piss stop with something to look at. We get to Kings Canyon at 3pm, and its 38 degrees. In the shade. Guide tries to discourage us from doing the climb, but we’re all pretty insistent. Half-way up Heart Attack Hill (the initial steep climb) she says she’s feeling dizzy and thats enough for me to pack it in. I join two other quitters at the bottom for a walk in the shade and the rest continue on. She later tells me she that the walk was far too dangerous and she had considered calling a halt to the whole thing, so I don’t feel as much of a coward. It looked amazing from where I was stood, so I guess the rest had a ball.

We spend the night cooking over an open fire then early to bed (because we all forgot to get beer). Some choose to sleep in swags (an outdoor campbed) but I stay in my tent as far away from the rest in case I snore. The following morning we set course for Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), but arrive to be told that the Uluru climb, and the Olga’s Valley of the Winds walk, are off because of the high temperatures, so get to spend the afternoon arsing around the cultural centre. Thats where three of the locals decide to steal my wine from the back of our trailer. The little ****ers. I decide there and then to climb Uluru the next morning rather than respect their culture by staying off the heap of rock. I thought I’d introduce them to the cultural concept of "revenge is sweet". Hope they had a manky hangover that morning. We get sunset at the Rock but looking back towards The Olgas it looks far more impressive.

We get up for sunrise, to catch it at the rock again. Me and two others are on for a climb up the Rock to catch sunrise there, but the rangers have closed the climb due to high winds. I’m starting to reconsider my climb plan as I’m getting a nagging pain in my back that has the potential to become something more serious, but when we return to the base of the climb I decide to go ahead anyway. Big mistake. I stop 2/5ths of the way up, with my back screaming at me and my knees in a heap. I am an unfit bastard. The climb down was worse, and when I arrive down I’m shaking. Uluru wins the battle, but at least I can say I tried it. The pics I see from the rest of the climbers are spectacular, and in fairness I got a few good ‘uns myself.

A 500km drive back to Alice Springs (that involved two turns and a long staright road) for more beers and party games in the backpackers. I win a jug of beer and happy hour prices when I’m the only one of 35 people who manages to throw a plastic beer jug in the air and get it to land right way up. Cue much merriment and plenty of "we always though you were a tosser" and "its all in the wrist action, you must get plenty of practise", and we celebrate by dancing on the tables.

So got up today and flew to Sydney. Can’t say I’m sorry to leave behind the centre. Too hot, too dry, too expensive, too many flies. It was worth seeing, but not worth doing again.

Hope that all helps.

Joeyjoejoe43

Nice one, that was a great help.

Stabshauptmann

I did a 6 day from Alice to Darwin, 3 days around Ayres rock,m olgas and kings canyon were cool but there was nothing to do on the trip from alice to darwin, just chatting to others on the bus - though most people mostly just slept.

I would highly recommend skipping alice to darwin. With Adventure tours australia you can do a 3 day to Ayres rock, 3 days to Darwin, and 3 days in Kakado (or any combination of them) and Id really stress that Alice to Darwin SUCKED.

asti_mivec

Nice post and pics OP.

Just thought I'd add my tuppence worth....

I did a 3 day tour from Darwing to Alice a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, boozed it up every night with a great crowd of people and had a ball during the days even allowing for one evening spent trying to mend an overheated bus engine! We spent most of the first day walking and swimming in the waterfalls at Litchfield NP which was great as it seems that alot of companies skip this but it takes up one day on an otherwise seemingly mundane trip. That means that all the other stop offs (Katherine, Daly Waters, Heated Springs, devils marbles etc) were packed into a smaller schedule and therefore was such a rush trying to make it to each for a while that it was almost over too quick.

Just wanted to add in case people reading this write off the trip from Darwin to Alice as worthless.

G'day

therecklessone

Horses for courses really, I'd a great time on the Darwin to Alice leg...tour guide helped, plus a couple of good nights along the way.

Was a very relaxing way to make a long journey.